r/FF06B5

Yes I know his tattoos have been looked at in general, but after googling the meaning of this, I believe it provides yet another piece of evidence that the game is a simulation/braindance.

From Google:

EWMN most commonly stands for "Evil, Wicked, Mean, Nasty," a traditional four-letter knuckle tattoo found in prison and biker subcultures to signify a hardened or defiant personal disposition.

It can also stand for Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation, a symbolic system used to record and analyze human dance and movement, which is then transcribed to a readable physical data medium akin to piece of sheet music.

Does this sound incredibly similar to the engram to anyone else? Joshua's whole team may be psyopping us using reverse psychology, to trick you into giving them engram data for the next player that they put into the game, using our looped data for their nefarious purposes.

Key Aspects of EWMN:

Spherical Reference: Uses longitude and latitude axes around joints to measure precise rotational angles of limbs.

Applications: Utilized extensively in modern dance choreography, behavioral studies of animals, and physical therapy analysis.

Documentation: Movements are transcribed onto specialized manuscript notation sheets much like a musical score.

I'm now of the belief that this is NOT "Joshua Stevenson." I think it's the gamemaster, or perhaps a literal "titan of entertainment" seeing what choices we make during this very important and emotional quest, that is universally lauded as everyone's LEAST favorite quest. Of course I cannot prove that this is correct, due to the double-meaning, but it seemed worth mentioning

Probably nothing, but why this kiosk and no others?

During the deathhead BD I messed around too much and things got weird I witnessed some oddities posting them below,. I witnessed what looked to be a ghost walk in and out of the scav woman that sent the netrunner beyond the blackwall. One image also depicts the same woman with ghost like overlay of cloven hooves or inhuman feet alien almost. Goes without saying she is the only one the netrunner sees when it happens through his eyes another anomaly was lights that seem to react to the netrunners fear spike and the absence of heat in the moment it happens. And for some reason the scav guy and the runner tuned pink under that light no idea why

I once thought this was an esoteric black scrying mirror bit like what was done in Deltarune on a black reflective screen now I seen there actually is something needless to say I almost pissed myself when I seen it I also found three other coincidences..

A hidden access point behind boxes on a shelf just like in the Malestrom hideout Jane and John Doe end up.

The same "Watcher' music plays when interrogating Mr.Forest at a certain point just as in the peralez missions when "THEY" see you.

After turning off three specific access points and blowing up a generator hidden behind a skill check door the generator next to the shelf had a new hack available.

Now, I don't remember if these cotton candy balls where in the V.I.P. Area before or not but they are clipping into the ceiling.

(P.S) I went for Angel because of the quantum leveling as they are voiced by male V I always play Fem being trans and all it just helps with immersion and found they are actually really chill in comparison to Skye's freakout.

Just like part 1 of my reverse psychology theory, this one's gonna be long, too.

In this post, I'm going to attempt to explain why we must avoid ALL birds (including Songbird), ALL therapy, and ALL ties to family (unfortunately including fan-favorite, and ultimate trickster Panam) Please note that for the purposes of part 1 and part 2 ONLY, I am applying Simulation/Ready Player One theory to my explanations.

Birds:

First with the birds, let's look at the Avian Extermination Act. The shards in the game are actually telling you the truth about the birds.. somewhat. According to the lore, the birds were exterminated in 2063 due to the spread of disease. Well the disease is actually a virus that infects the player. The virus is analogous to "stupidity," so in order to keep things interesting, the gamemasters removed all birds... except for 3 specific ones. Please bare with me until the end of the post. (Disclaimer: I'm an animal lover, and mean no disrespect to birds, but the logic I'm using is that birds have tiny brains, even if -some- can be quite intelligent)

Also of note is that birds are NOT mammals...they're actually aves. Interpret that as you will.

I want everyone to think about the only 3 places in the game where we can see LIVE birds.

1. The Arasaka ending, right when we enter Yorinobu's office. The Arasaka ending is universally described as the "bad" ending, and it is the DEFAULT ending if we do not unlock any of the other base endings.

This literal bird-brained player in the Arasaka ending has tricked you into making some of the worst choices possible in the game, thus dooming you to the unenlightened path, regardless of whatever choice you make on the space station.

2. The Play It Safe mission during the Dashi parade, way high up on a balcony, hidden away. Keep in mind that on the same level as this mysterious chirping bird, is a LOCKED door, behind which lies an iconic weapon, if you enter the passcode. We can UNLOCK the door, but we need to TURN BACK and reject violence by NOT picking up the iconic weapon. I also believe that the bird is watching over your mission, and your battle with Oda, to see if you spare him (RIGHT) or kill him (WRONG).

I understand these "links" may be a point of contention, so if anyone has an alternative interpretation of why this bird is here (assuming my reverse psychology/simulation theory is true for the purposes of this discussion), I'm open to listen.. but I do believe this bird is psy-opping us into picking up the iconic weapon, putting the idea of violence in our head, and thus hoping that we kill Oda.

I KNOW that when the devs were asked about the placement of this bird and the other 2 animals next to it on the balcony, they CLAIMED it was simply a dedication to someone else. What's funny is that that's because it's literally another player trying to trick us into doing the wrong thing.

3. At the VERY end of The Star ending, right outside Panam's car. Keep in mind this specific bird is the one of the VERY LAST things we see before the credits roll. This is important.

Here's what's going to both infuriate you, but also make your head spin. Just like the devs knew you'd emulate Johnny/Keanu Reeves, because they're "cool" they -also- knew you would go the "hot and wholesome" romance route by doing everything Panam wanted, and also knew how excited you were about Phantom Liberty..the main character being a hot emo cyberpunk chick literally named SONGBIRD. They knew you couldn't refuse, and well, by choosing the Panam ending, or by choosing to even initially help Songbird, congratulations you've failed spectacularly.. you gave into your most primal urges, chose more birds, and made the wrong decisions. This is why it's called PHANTOM Liberty, because it's a fake choice, which I will discuss later.

Family:

Panam represents family, and she reminds you of this SO many times in her dialogue. Most players trust her 100%, because she pretends to have some of the purest intentions in the entire game. WRONG. Panam is another player trying to trick you. She is the ultimate troll, and here's why. What happens when we do The Star/Panam ending? There is a glimmer of hope for a cure, as we ride off into the sunset with her, but at the last minute, when we're feeling our happiest, BIRD. DEFEAT. It is LAUGHING at you. You failed again in this ending. You failed to reject FAMILY/Panam, and fell for the most basic tricks they pulled, therefore one of the smallest-brained contestants was once again able to beat you. You lost to a damn bird.

Where else do we see an emphasis on family in the game? Could it be these weird mysterious papers that are littered all over the game world at important places, telling us to essentially EMBRACE family? These papers are one of the ultimate TRICKS placed by the devs. They SEEM like common sense and wholesome tenants to live by, but from a reverse psychology perspective, what they're doing is hammering the concept of FAMILY into your head at every step of the way. This is why the papers are on top of the statue, and also why the monks say to "activate the meridians on the roof." It's all a psych out, because they KNEW you couldn't resist looking on the top of that statue.

Therapy:

There are 13 of these mysterious greenhouses located around Night City. The player will likely first encounter one of these in Corpo Plaza, near both the statue and Arasaka Tower.. this is a TRICK. Each one is called a "Night City Center for Behavioral Health." Red Flag #1 is that there's 13 of them. Red Flag #2 is that while there aren't any REAL birds inside any of them, they play soothing bird sounds, to keep you locked in and sick in this IRON CAGE. Red Flag #3 is that SOME of the doors quite literally say "No Entry," because they knew that you couldn't resist opening that door. Congratulations you've made the wrong choice again. The 2 dead bodies you can find in 2 of these specific greenhouses were other players that committed suicide, due to being driven crazy by the sounds of the non-existent birds.

Here's another interesting note: Through extrapolating meaning from various parts of the lore, it is heavily implied that BARTMOSS is watching the player through the cats in the game. One of these cats (that you can WAIT with) is located in one of these greenhouses. When you choose this option, you take a nap, and when you wake up, the cat is gone. I'm still fleshing out my theory regarding Bartmoss, his cyberdeck, and the cats in general, which I hope to elaborate on in a future post.

The other notable reference to therapy is one of the gigs in which instead of visiting a Center for Behavioral Health, we are visiting a Center for PSYCHIATRIC Health. There is only -1- (Enlightenment) of these Centers in the entire game, while there are -13- of the fake kind. Keep in mind that Pawel Sasko is a literal psychologist. I haven't played this quest in a while, so I don't have any insight as to the specific choices we must make, but I'm fairly sure this is one of the quests that must be completed. I will run through this one with FactFinder as well.

I hope you enjoyed my analyses in theories in parts 1 and 2. I'm on mobile and it is incredibly difficult to format and make these long posts clean and tidy, while still explaining the pictures, but I appreciate it if you still read and tried to see things from my perspective.

My ultimate point of these posts is to reverse engineer the quests to determine the correct choices in EVERY quest, in order to outsmart the devs, and achieve the enlightenment that the game dangles before us at various points. I also have no issue sharing my entire FactFinder log with anyone who thinks they can pull more information from them than I can. If we "crowdsource" on this sub, and solve every quest correctly, I THINK we can do this.

In my next post, I'm planning on analyzing the importance of Names, Nix and Bartmoss, and I plan to expand on WHY I believe Morgan Blackhand used Nix's "Book of Spellls" to activate the Arasaka Tower "Emergency Cooling System," at the end of HIS game, which is why he was able to break the simulation.

I was messing around with the jump boost and I found this on some rooftops down town. Curious as to what this means.

I searched and haven't seen this specific "monument" discussed, so I wanted to posit a theory. Warning: this will be a very long breakdown of the monolith/monument.

First, I'm at the point where I am 95% sure that the "Hidden Messsage" in the dev room is a multi-layered hint as to what we are looking for. After a previous post where I discussed how the art for Nix's Book of Spells on the wiki has an odd misspelling (Forbidden Spelll), I came to the conclusion that there are hidden things to look for in both holographic assets, and places where words are misspelled, or have extra letters.

According to the wiki, this monument is called "The Needle," and it is dedicated to the Presidents of the United States. The map location is shown in picture 4. The monument was designed by a Jared Cox, in the year 2063. The only event listed on the wiki for 2063 is the adoption of the "Avian Extermination Act," to eradicate all birds in order to stop the spread of avian diseases. This act is mentioned in several other shards throughout the game.

Here are the reasons I think there may be something here:

Note: I did not trigger an event, and I'm also not 100% sure this isn't a red herring, but the specific combination of assets gave me pause.

1. Holographic nature of the plaque, just like the Hidden Messsage screen

2. Non-unique, but uncommon graffiti showing what appears to be "3D" glasses under the plaque (unfortunately I don't personally own a pair)

3. At night, the plaque brightly reflects the lines (filaments?) on the Heavy Hearts club pyramid in the moonlight

4. There is a box in each corner of the plaque. 3 have a X in them, but the top right one has a circle for some reason.. and even has 2 arrows literally pointing to it

5. There is a repeating set of two distinct (characters) vertically along the left side of the plaque. If we label them 0 and 1, for instance, the pattern would be 0100101. They don't look like or resemble any language, or anything else discernible.

6. In the bottom center-left, the numbers 00033 05_64 0B CP can be seen, with what appears to be a mildly similar wavelength(?) pattern underneath.

6a. Next to the numbers mentioned in 6, there is another box with a single line struck through it.This box reminded me of a rare "painting/picture/poster" that can be found in a few places in the game. The strange picture (that I've seen people refer to as simply leftover prefab code), is solid pink/magenta with a YELLOW line struck through it. I can't for the life of me find a picture of this anywhere on this sub, so if someone knows what I'm referring to, please share the pic. I can only remember that one place I found it was pretty up high on the top of a building in the base game

7. The bottom center-right shows the characters 0x00001230ABC L<-D P/SK-1, with a mildly similar(?) wavelength(?) pattern above the characters

8. This is more of a question, but can anyone decipher what the vertical images on the monolith are? 3rd one from the bottom is obviously a dragon, but I'm unsure of the others. Are these also potential instructions?

Maybe it's just me, but it's almost like the devs are saying "look here for something important." My schizo idea was to use photo mode to fly up and zoom in on the single open circle on the plaque, in order to see a reflection, or possibly something else at a specific time. That circle may also be telling us that regardless of our distance/angle, this needs to be the center point of our camera

Dogtown's main color is yellow (filter effect 10 in photo mode, I believe), and during sandstorms, the yellows seem to pop out. I briefly played around with photo mode, but was unable to find anything yet.

I'm going to reiterate my belief that Misty's comment early in the game to "caress the filaments of light along your fingertips" is of significance to deciphering at least part of the mystery of the colors in the game. I do believe she's referring to photo mode, and to use it on distinctive "lines of light" we may see.

You are not required to waste your time trying this, but I wanted to put the idea out there in case anyone can offer any further insight to this specific monument, or if they did want to try something with it. I do believe this specific asset combination warrants more eyes on it... No Coincidence. Appreciate it if you read it all.

I thought this was kinda cool, depending on how you arrange the hex code ff:06:b5 you can get the color schemes for each of v’s intros.

Street kid (shifting each chunk by one)
Ff:06:b5
06:b5:ff
B5:ff:06

Corpo (isolating each chunk)
Ff:00:00
00:06:00
00:00:b5

Nomad (invert the hex of each chunk individually)
00:06:b5
Ff:f9:b5
Ff:06:4a

Its not a whole lot but i thought that was kinda neat. Sorry if this has been posted before.

Before I spend the next few days essentially writing a dissertation on what I now believe is going on, will someone confirm to me that this is a bug? (Before I embarrass myself, and annoy you guys)

I used the "glitch" elevator in DFTR and walked above the floor all the way to where Mikoshi is supposed to be. I dove into the "placeholder" water room, fell through the bottom, and fell... endlessly. After a few seconds, this message popped up. Afterwards, you will continue falling until your deteriorating health kills you(?) I waited till I was 15KM below the map before I loaded a previous save. Curiously enough, due to passing through the water, you will not die from the fall, and can still see bubbles as if you're swimming during your entire "fall."

I DID both Google this and search on this sub, and couldn't find much. Gemini AI spit something out about how this message can appear when an area is not loaded in yet, but it couldn't provide me links to sources. This is the OBVIOUS explanation, but I do want to confirm before I delete this post.

## A Note on Method

This post separates claims into four categories:

- **[FACT]** — Confirmed by the game files, shards, or official sources
- **[EVIDENCE]** — Player observation, corroboration needed
- **[INTERPRETATION]** — Possible symbolic reading
- **[SPECULATION]** — Hypothesis without sufficient evidence

I welcome corrections. Some of these connections have been discussed before in this community — I'll flag those where I'm aware.

---

## Part 1: What Magenta Actually Is

### [FACT] Magenta is an extra-spectral color

Unlike red (~700nm), green (~530nm), or blue (~440nm), **there is no single wavelength of light that corresponds to magenta**. Magenta arises as a **perceptual experience** when long-wavelength (L) cones and short-wavelength (S) cones are activated simultaneously while medium-wavelength (M) cones respond weakly.

This is well-established in color science through the **opponent process theory** (Hering, 1892; confirmed physiologically in the 20th century). The brain processes color through opposing channels: red↔green, blue↔yellow, and luminance. Magenta appears when the red and blue channels signal together without a corresponding green response.

**Important clarification:** It is *not* accurate to say "magenta doesn't exist in nature." Magenta appears in nature whenever surfaces reflect both red and blue wavelengths. It *is* accurate to say magenta is **extra-spectral** — it has no single wavelength, but it exists as a real perceptual phenomenon produced by real stimuli.

### [FACT] Human trichromatic vision evolved from dichromacy

Approximately 30-40 million years ago, a gene duplication on the X chromosome split the long-wavelength opsin into two distinct cones (L ~560nm and M ~530nm), giving Old World primates trichromatic vision (Nathans et al., 1986; Dulai et al., 1999). Most mammals remain dichromatic.

### [INTERPRETATION] The magenta code could be read as symbolically appropriate

FF:06:B5 = RGB(255, 6, 181). The near-absence of green (value: 6) in a max-red/high-blue combination is precisely the condition that produces strong magenta perception. Whether this was intentional or coincidental on CDPR's part, I cannot confirm without a direct developer statement.

---

## Part 2: FF:06:B5 In-Game Elements

### [FACT] Confirmed elements of the mystery

The following are confirmed components of the FF:06:B5 puzzle in Cyberpunk 2077 (Patch 2.0+):

- The **hex code FF:06:B5** appears on statues throughout Night City
- **Gary the Prophet** is an NPC connected to the mystery
- The **mattress sequence** in the Badlands triggers the event (~5:40 AM, no fast-forwarding, ~3-10 min real time wait)
- A **Relic Malfunction** occurs during the sequence
- A **magenta cube** appears and dissolves
- The **Mackinaw "Demiurge"** monster truck is granted to the player's garage
- The puzzle involves the **Arasaka Tower 3D** minigame (AT3D)
- **Polyhistor** and **Tyromanta** are connected elements

*(Sources: ff06b5.fandom.com, multiple verified walkthroughs)*

### [FACT] FF:06:B5 as a missing texture code

FF:06:B5 is the standard placeholder color used in Unreal Engine and other engines for **missing or failed textures**. Its appearance in-game as a visible marking on statues could be interpreted as either:

- An intentional aesthetic choice (CDPR deliberately using a "broken" color as texture)
- A coincidence or legacy artifact

I don't have enough evidence to confirm either.

---

## Part 3: Gnostic Cosmology and the Name "Demiurge"

### [FACT] "Demiurge" is a term from ancient Gnostic and Platonic texts

In various Gnostic traditions (particularly Sethian and Valentinian texts such as the *Apocryphon of John* and the *Hypostasis of the Archons*), the Demiurge — often named **Yaldabaoth** — is described as:

- An offspring of **Sophia** (Wisdom), an Aeon who acted without the Monad's consent
- Ignorant of higher realities, believing himself the sole creator
- Responsible for creating the **material world** as a flawed copy of the divine model
- A figure associated with imprisonment of divine sparks within humanity

These are specific textual claims from specific traditions. Gnosticism was not a unified doctrine — Valentinian, Sethian, Mandaean, and other traditions differ significantly in cosmological details.

### [INTERPRETATION] The name "Demiurge" applied to the Mackinaw truck suggests thematic parallels with Gnostic cosmology

The name choice *could* be read as a deliberate reference to Gnostic creation mythology. However:

- This does **not** by itself prove CDPR intended a full Gnostic reading of the FF:06:B5 mystery
- The name could also reference the philosophical/Platonic concept of a craftsman-creator without full Gnostic implications
- Without developer commentary confirming the reference, this remains an interpretation

### [SPECULATION] Parallels between Gnostic "gnosis" and the in-game puzzle mechanics

The puzzle requires **patience and presence** (standing on the mattress, waiting, no fast-forwarding). In Gnostic traditions, gnosis (knowledge that liberates) requires direct experiential revelation. One *could* read the puzzle as mirroring this: you must show up, wait, and witness the glitch.

**However**, this is speculative. The mechanical requirements could simply be game design choices unrelated to any philosophical framework.

---

## Part 4: The Visible Spectrum and the Bell Curve

### [FACT] Cone sensitivity curves approximate Gaussian distributions

Each cone type (S, M, L) has a spectral sensitivity curve that resembles a bell curve, peaking at its respective wavelength. These curves overlap significantly between M and L cones.

### [FACT] Magenta perception occurs at the extremes of these curves

Magenta arises when L (red, high end of spectrum) and S (blue, low end) activate without M (green, middle). In terms of the sensitivity curves, this means the *tails* of the L and S curves are contributing while the M curve's peak is not.

### [INTERPRETATION] The magenta markings on statues and the magenta cube could be read as "edge-of-perception" symbols

If we follow the symbolic thread: magenta exists only at the margins of our visual processing — it's what the visual system produces when it encounters a signal combination that doesn't fit neatly into the spectrum. One could read the magenta cube as a symbol of something at the boundary of what V (and the player) can perceive.

This is an interpretation, not a confirmed design intent.

---

## Part 5: The Kiroshi Optics Connection

### [FACT] In-game Kiroshi Optics modify visual perception

Kiroshi cybernetic eyes alter what V can see — adding HUD elements, threat detection, scanning capabilities. This is established gameplay mechanics.

### [EVIDENCE] There are in-game shards/pages discussing Kiroshi technology

The in-game lore discusses Kiroshi optics and their perceptual modifications. *(If someone has the specific shard name, please share — I want to reference it properly.)*

### [INTERPRETATION] Kiroshi technology as a metaphor for modified perception

Just as trichromatic vision gave primates access to colors their ancestors couldn't perceive, Kiroshi optics give V access to visual information baseline humans can't see. The parallel is interesting but interpretive — I haven't found evidence that CDPR explicitly designed this parallel.

---

## Part 6: Open Questions

1. **Has anyone found developer commentary** on the FF:06:B5 Easter egg beyond what's publicly known?

2. **The fine structure constant (α ≈ 1/137)** appears in some discussions. FF:06:B5 in decimal is **16,713,397**. I haven't found a mathematical relationship between this number and α, and I'm not going to invent one. If someone has done rigorous work on this, please share.

3. **Post-Demiurge state:** The mattress goes dormant after obtaining the truck. Has anyone found anything new *after* completion that hasn't been reported? I spent time on Gary's mattress in Japantown (Bradbury & Buran) post-puzzle — nothing triggered.

4. **Are there other magenta-coded visual cues** in Night City that haven't been catalogued yet?

---

## Sources

- Color science: Hering opponent process theory; Nathans et al. (1986) on opsin genes; Dulai et al. (1999) on primate trichromacy
- Gnostic texts: *Apocryphon of John*, *Hypostasis of the Archons* (Nag Hammadi Library)
- Professor Jiang Xueqin (Predictive History YouTube channel) — lectures on Gnostic cosmology *(note: Jiang's interpretations are his own analysis, not primary Gnostic sources)*
- FF:06:B5 puzzle: ff06b5.fandom.com, community walkthroughs
- In-game: Kiroshi Optics mechanics, Gary the Prophet NPC, Mackinaw Demiurge vehicle

---

*I've tried to be careful with what's fact vs interpretation. If I've gotten something wrong, call it out — that's how this works.*

There's that secret room in Arasaka tower that oddly resembles this cover

"I'm V". I've always wondered why they picked that specific name for our main character. Sure their true name is either Valerie or Vincent but they're very insistent on being called 'V' and stated during 'Automatic Love' that only people who know them well can call them by their true name, which includes absolutely no one from the game even our romance options.

"V" is not a particularly memorable or badass nickname for a merc and multiple characters throughout the game mock our main character for insisting on being called V. But in the real world that particular name carries considerable weight if you've ever red the comic V for Vendeta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The Guy Fawkes mask became a very recognizable symbol in pop-culture in the late 2000s thanks to hacker group Anonymous, you used to see it everywhere from online campaigns to street protests. Some might have seen in the movie adaptation of the comic of course, but to truelly understand what a powerful symbol of revolution and anarchism that face represents you need to read the comic. This V is unrelenting, unrepenting, never shows any sign of regret or remorse and will absolutely do everything in his power, including killing and blowing stuff-up, to destroy the fascist government, no matter the cost or casualties. Remind you of anyone?

"V is by far the most notable character in V for Vendetta: he has the greatest amount of dialogue, he is the subject of the most attention from the other characters, his name is in the title, etc. Yet in spite of all this, V is also the most ambiguous character in the graphic novel. We don’t know how old V is, we don’t know who his family was, we don’t know his sexual orientation, we don’t know what his face looks like (he wears a Guy Fawkes mask at all times), and we don’t even know to a certainty if he’s a man or a woman (for the purposes of this summary, we’ll consider him a man). Based on the evidence we’re presented with, it seems that V was a “subversive” who was arrested during the early days of the Norsefire regime and sent to a concentration camp. There, he was injected with drugs and hormones that made him smarter, made him stronger, and made him forget his own past. Since breaking out of his prison, V has used terrorism to oppose the Norsefire regime, killing his former jailers and orchestrating an elaborate assault on its institutions. V is an anarchist who believes that violence and destruction are necessary in order to establish a new world order in which people consent to live with each other in peace, rather than submitting to the tyranny of a government." (source: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/v-for-vendetta/characters/v )

Upon his death Johnny Silverhand became a martyr, a symbol, a man who sacrificed everything in his quest to destroy Arasaka, and the corporate world at large, but I think our V could be something way more important for the future of the series.

From a RP perspective V is a customizable character, they can be from any origin, gender or sexuality and once equiped with the FIA's behavioral imprint faceplate, V can effectively "shapeshift" . V is and has always been a face in the crowd and I think that from a Meta-narrative stand-point the devs were trying to build a character who would be able to theorically be anyone in the sequels. Yes, I don't think V dies in any of the endings, except maybe 'Path of Least Resistance'. What we've experienced so far might just be the early years of someone who's gonna go on to do great things in the future, just like the other NC legends.

What about Johnny then? I don't think this is the real Johnny Silverhand or not the same as in 2023 at least. Someone clearly tempered with his memories hence why we only get unreliable bits and pieces of what really happened at Arasaka HQ like the fact that he pretty much took Morgan Blackhand's role. But to what aim? Well let's look at what happened to V and to NC as a whole in rapid succession since they inserted the Relic. If you subscribe to the idea that most of the main endings lead us roughly towards the same result that would mean that in a couple of month a single random merc managed to got toe-to-toe with the most dangerous gangs in the city + megacorps, save the president and survive Dogtown as an FIA operative, then eventually cripple the second most powerfull corporation on the planet with the help of a rogue AI. Obviously, Johnny is the only reason V managed to go that far, and Johnny is the only reason V managed to get in contact with Alt.

My point? I think the Relic prototype, as its presented by the time Yorinobu stole it, was a conditioning device. The Relic is the Guy Fawkes mask. We don't know for sure who (or what) made it so, but the results speak for themselves. By inserting that particular Relic litterally anyone can become the most dangerous anarchist terrorist in NC. It's not immortality, it's recruitment. V is bigger than a person, V is an idea. What might have been an unforseen consequense is that V would retain some residuals of their personality, or maybe that doesn't change anything either way since the Silverhand engram still has a massive influence on the subject.

Now imagine what an entire group of people with a copy of Johnny's engram could accomplish. You don't even need to spend years at a time trainning them, brainwashing them (like the Peralezes) or spreading propaganda (Doc Paradox), you could just copy Johnny's engram and build an army of perfectly synched anarchists in a couple of months. An entire unit of Vs. I think that's exactly what the game hints at during the 'For whom the Bell Tolls' quest when you arrive at the Afterlife as Johnny. You can catch a conversation between two mercs talking about an elusive and deadly unit moving like a single individual.

I beleive V is still the protagonist of Cyberpunk 2, they will return different, changed, and CDPR will find a way to justify character creation again, but from a character progression and RP perspective I think they absolutely plan to factor-in the experience gain and your previous actions and decisions like in Witcher 3. Gameplay might also include team dynamics like in the TTRPG, it just makes sense. They keep saying that there's no happy endings in NC and that's somewhat true, but if the game truely wants to walk in the foot-steps of something like Neuromancer or The Matrix, you need a form of resistance, you need a Revolution.